a film by Sherry Hormann
2004 | 102 mins | Germany
Maximilian Brückner .... Ecki
Lisa Maria Potthoff .... Susanne
David Rott .... Sven
Rolf Zacher .... Coach Karl
Christian Berkel .... Rudolf
Dietmar Bär .... Ecki's Father
Saskia Vester .... Ecki's Mother
Charly Hübner .... Horst
Markus John .... Tom
Billey Demirtas .... Ercin
Andreas Schmidt .... Jürgen
Michael von Burg .... Martin
Max Hopp .... Steffen
Hans Löw .... Klaus
Edesson Batista de Jesus .... Ronaldo
Edilton Pereira da Cruz .... Ronaldino
Marcel Nievelstein .... Rudolf's Son Jan
Sybille J Schedwill .... Jan's Mother
Muhammad Behboudi .... Ercin's Father
Mariele Millowitsch .... Coach's wife
Carlo Ljubek .... Udo
Felix Vöortier .... Udo's Father
Balls
an engaging comic driven work tackling
homophobia in the so-called
beautiful game
Available on DVD as part of the
Peccadillo Pictures catalogue
www.peccadillopod.com
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Before Róbert I Douglas directed us to the serious issue of homophobia in the so-called
beautiful game courtesy of the Icelandic treat that was ELEVEN MEN OUT, Sherry
Hormann tread the same ground with this engaging comic driven work.
Not that this feature doesn't play heavily on gay stereotypes, for it does, big time. Then again,
has the star of our show any option, given Ecki finds himself rejected by his teammates who
blame him and his now out sexuality, courtesy of a drunken pass at another player, for their
failure to secure league promotion. With his father unable to come to terms with a gay football
loving son and his mother extending the sole open arms of homosexual acceptance in a town
seemingly steeped in sexual intolerance and cue some rather crude homophobic jokes, Ecki
promptly heads off to Dortmund. Only the welcoming smile from his sister Susanne is soon to
turn to a look of shock, when she learns that her brother has challenged his former
team to a 'straights versus gays' match in four weeks time.
Yet if finding a bunch of openly gay football players proved to be difficult, then turning them
into a winning formation is a more uphill struggle. Thankfully on hand to help Ecki out is
Coach Karl, a disillusioned former professional player of the '65 / '66 season, whose initial
reluctance to let a group of gay boys play on his beloved turf is soon replaced by a renewed
interest in the game, inspired as he is by their willingness to train and inparticular the
proficiency of a pair of Brazilian players who do their country proud. Then again, so too does
male nurse Sven, a man who has set his sights on Ecki, that is if Ecki has pride enough
to return his affection in public and inparticular on match day, namely the perfect
opportunity to show his former teammates that gays can score both on and off
the field. Question is, will Ecki succeed on both fronts?
In short, what you have here is yet another outing of the 'triumphant underdog' scenario,
one that is played to the full by a cast who inject their characters with a genuine warmth and
charm. Yes stereotypes abound left, right and centre and here we're talking about all out camp
limp wrist action, leather men and their chains, not to mention the odd butch dyke and frankly
every aspect of human sexuality that Kinsey made notes on. That Maximilian Brückner as Ecki
plays his role with a straight edge, is countered by the beckoning eye movements of David
Rott who as cute guy Sven proves to have star quality, both on and off the field. Only
their friendship is not the only one to find itself in the spotlight, as the father
and son relationship is given significant prominence throughout this
piece and in more ways than just one.
And perhaps that is what makes this cliché laden work - work. For there is a real sense of
believably in this diverse bunch of football playing lads. That the end game also results
with the bigoted views of Ecki's father being shown the pink card of sexual acceptance was never
in doubt, being part of the fun of a work of this nature. Funny, laced with football action
coupled with the odd gay kiss or two, Sherry Hormann has delivered a work that checks many of
the requisite boxes required for a film festival favourite. Yet in doing so, Hormann equally
showcases the ingrained prejudice that exists to this day in a profession in which few,
if any professional players would feel at ease to publicly acknowledge their sexuality
to be anything other than that of heterosexual. In order words, the day in which
that is no longer the case, will be the day in which football can truly
call itself - the beautiful game.
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